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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Towns Fighting to Stand Ground Against Gas Drillers - NYTimes.com

Rush for Gas Rights Ignites Battles for Control of Land

Jeff Swensen for The New York Times

Newbury Village is a new high-end development in South Fayette, but potential buyers have been concerned about proposed drilling within the community.

Published: December 14, 2011

SOUTH FAYETTE, Pa. — As energy companies move to drill in densely populated areas from Pennsylvania to Texas, battles are breaking out over who will have the final say in managing the shale gas boom.

The fight, which pits towns and cities against energy companies and states eager for growth, has raised a fundamental question about the role of local government: How much authority should communities have over the use of their land?

The battle is playing out in Pennsylvania as the Republican-controlled legislature considers bills that would in their current form sharply limit a community’s right to control where gas companies can operate on private property. Critics say the final bill could vastly weaken local zoning powers and give industry the upper hand in exchange for a tax, which cash-strapped municipalities badly need.

The legislation has struck a nerve in a state where land control has long been considered quintessentially local.

“I’m a conservative Republican, and this goes against all my principles,” said Brian Coppola, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Robinson Township. The pending legislation, he said, “is an enormous land grab on the part of the industry. Our property rights are being trampled.”

Mr. Coppola noted a hillside in town that began to crack and slide under the weight of a new shale gas processing plant, which he contends was built without a permit. The town’s zoning powers allowed him, through a court, to compel the company to follow town regulations and allow town inspectors access to the site. The site was eventually stabilized. Losing those powers would leave local officials out of the equation, he said, even though they are responsible for protecting the health and safety of their citizens.

“I’m an unpaid, part-time elected official, and it’s been a nightmare,” he said. “The state is not capable of monitoring even the most basic parts of this industry.”

Local governments argue that drilling is an industrial activity, just like a gas station or a cement factory, that should be subject to zoning. Dozens of towns, cities and counties across the country have enacted rules on noise, lighting and the distance from homes and, in some cases, outright bans. In New York alone, there have been at least 70 such actions.

Companies say the rush to regulate has produced an overly burdensome set of demands that is denting their potential when the economy desperately needs a boost.

“It’s like having to get a different driver’s license in every town,” said Matt Pitzarella, a spokesman for Range Resources, a Texas drilling company that is active here.

The flurry of local rules comes as the federal government inches forward on a national study of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, the process used to extract previously inaccessible natural gas from shale deep underground.

The study is expected to shape the future of the industry, but progress has been slow. In the meantime, courts have become the next frontier.

In New York in September, a Denver exploration company sued Dryden, a town near Ithaca, over a drilling ban. In Colorado, Gunnison County, which contains a ski resort, is fighting a drilling company’s court challenge to its zoning. In Texas, a restrictive gas drilling ordinance adopted by an affluent suburb of Dallas called Flower Mound has drawn several lawsuits alleging it amounts to an unconstitutional seizure of mineral rights.

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About Me

Hi I'm Don,
I write, sing and record songs of my own and I like doing this very much. My music is on my web site. My first album is called DonSongs and my second one is called Living Beings - Climate Control. You can Download and listen and save all our songs on my web site at DonSongs.com and it's completely free. My favorite hobby now is computers. I like to fix old Computers and make them usable again with different Linux Operating Systems or just fix up messed up WindBlows systems;). I really like researching interesting things on the Internet. I read allot about many things, Technical things on computers and the Internet, interesting discoveries in science, new technology, local and world news and just what ever strikes me as interesting. I am very handy and good with tools, fixing and making things. I like to help my friends with their projects when I can. I love Hot Rods and use to do Motor Swaps and put Big Block Chevy Motors where 6 cylinders once were. I love 4 Wheeling and Dirt Bike Riding But I don't have a motorcycle any more. I still really like 4 Wheeling in my 1976 Chevy Blazer, when I can afford the Gas and cost of Broken Parts that is...!!!:O
Don